As we’ve noted in this space before, polling done in a recent webinar with more than 100 industry executives has been very revealing about their view of their business, current focus and action to address the impact of high value shoppers on their brands or banners. However, the real heart of the matter is: what can brand and retail banner marketers do differently?

Part I of this three part series focused largely on the concept of “measure twice, cut once,” pertaining to the potential success of new products in the CPG market. Market contraction and SKU rationalization stemming from the Great Recession have led to a decrease in overall new product introductions, and the pressure to succeed is immense for items that do launch. Product testing is a key component for success as it mitigates risk and enables retailers and manufacturers to fully assess the market opportunity, then allocate the appropriate investment.

The great English poet and romantic Lord Byron, usually the composer of flamboyant verse and intricate alliteration, when faced with the eternal question that comes before us all, chose to answer it with analytic simplicity: “What’s drinking? A mere pause from thinking!” It is with such a noble principle that I choose to explain my frequenting of the local public houses. I am an analyst after all, and I never truly stop analyzing.

Today’s CPG retailers and manufacturers have several variables to contend with in order to drive sales and meet company goals. As retailers, manufacturers and consumers do not exist in a vacuum, maintaining and gaining market share relies on implementing mechanisms to account for circumstances beyond the control of the various parties involved.

We’ve been talking about the priorities and focus of CPG and retail industry executives using polling answers collected in a recent webinar. The answers to our questions illustrate the disconnect between the current market landscape and the focus of industry executives. While almost all CPG and retail industry executives (nine in 10) recognize that sales are highly concentrated in their category or business unit, few (two in 10) make finding high value shoppers the top priority.